O God, Forsake Me Not in Tonic Solfa

O God, Forsake Me Not in Tonic Solfa to WAS FRAG ICH NACH DER WELT, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

sO-

mGod,-dfor--ssake-sme-

lnot!-----lThy-

rgra--rcious-spre--fsence-

mlend-r_-dme;-sLead-

lThou-lThy-shelp--fless-

mchild,-----rThy-

mHo--fely-sSpir--lit-

tsend-l_-sme-sThat-

sI-smy-d'course-tamay-

lrun.-----lBe-

lThou-lmy-r'Light,-d'my-

tLot,-----sMy-

lStaff,-smy-lRock,-tmy-

d'Shield,—-----sO-

sGod,-mfor--rsake-rme-

dnot!-----

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Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (A)
Range: d to r' (D to E, a ninth)
Tune: WAS FRAG ICH NACH DER WELT
Words: Salomo Franck, August Crull
Music: Ahasverus Fritsch

The solfa line by line

The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.

Doh is D · 4/4

| s - O| m - d - s - s - God, forsake me| l - - - - - l - |not! Thy

| r - r - s - f - gracious presence| m - r - d - s - |lend me; Lead

| l - l - s - f - Thou Thy helpless| m - - - - - r - |child, Thy

| m - fe - s - l - Holy Spirit| t - l - s - s - |send me That

| s - s - d' - ta - I my course may| l - - - - - l - |run. Be

| l - l - r' - d' - Thou my Light, my| t - - - - - s - |Lot, My

| l - s - l - t - Staff, my Rock, my| d' - - - - - s - |Shield,— O

| s - m - r - r - God, forsake me| d - - - - - |not!

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

O God, forsake me not!
Thy gracious presence lend me;
Lead Thou Thy helpless child,
Thy Holy Spirit send me
That I my course may run.
Be Thou my Light, my Lot,
My Staff, my Rock, my Shield,—
O God, forsake me not!

O God, forsake me not!
Take not Thy Spirit from me
And suffer not the might
Of sin to overcome me;
Increase my feeble faith,
Which Thou Thyself hast wrought;
Be Thou my Strength and Power,—
O God, forsake me not!

O God, forsake me not!
Lord, hear my supplication!
In every evil hour
Help me o’ercome temptation;
And when the Prince of hell
My conscience seeks to blot,
Be Thou not far from me,—
O God, forsake me not!

O God, forsake me not!
Thy mercy I’m addressing;
O Father, God of Love,
Grant me Thy heavenly blessing
To do the duty which
To me Thou didst allot,
To do what pleaseth Thee,—
O God, forsake me not!

O God, forsake me not!
Lord, I am Thine forever.
Grant me true faith in Thee;
Grant that I leave Thee never;
Grant me a blessed end
When my good fight is fought,
Help me in life and death,—
O God, forsake me not!

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum D and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
Pitch the first note. The tune starts on s (A), on the word “O”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
Count the time. 4/4 means four crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l t and the chromatic fe ta. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.

New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.

About the hymn

Salomo Franck wrote these words in German. August Crull's translation was printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 347.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked 6.7.6.7.6.6.6.6, to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to WAS FRAG ICH NACH DER WELT; any other 6.7.6.7.6.6.6.6 tune fits them as well.

Words: Salomo Franck (1659–1725)
Translated: August Crull (1845–1923)
Music (1679): Ahasverus Fritsch (1629–1701)

Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WAS FRAG ICH NACH DER WELT by Ahasverus Fritsch (1629–1701); words by Salomo Franck (1659–1725); translated by August Crull (1845–1923). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.

Sung to the same tune: The Lord, My God, Be Praised, What Is the World to Me?.

Questions about O God, Forsake Me Not

What is the doh of O God, Forsake Me Not?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.

What note does O God, Forsake Me Not start on?

It starts on s (A in D major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is O God, Forsake Me Not in the public domain?

Yes. Salomo Franck died in 1725, August Crull died in 1923, Ahasverus Fritsch died in 1701; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1679. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.